December 9, 2022
For many the holiday season is a joyful, happy time built around togetherness, family, and friends, but for some it can be very stressful and filled with overwhelming expectations, depression, and anxiety. The holiday season can be a reminder of those who are not with us anymore, financial limitations, sadness from being separated from loved ones, and the loss of treasured traditions. Celebrating this time of year doesn’t have to be a sad or overwhelming time. It can be a peaceful time of reminiscing, volunteering, spending time with friends, and creating new traditions!
Some of the things that increase the sense of depression during the holidays are financial stress, feeling stressed from what is perceived as holiday obligations, and mental and physical fatigue. A lot of the signs and symptoms of depression are similar at holiday time such as insomnia, overeating, excessively drinking, binge shopping, and increased headaches.
We can help eliminate the holiday blues for our residents by trying to be proactive and assist them with the holidays. We will be helping our residents with cyber-Monday shopping and holiday centered activities all the way to January.
Loneliness is one of the most common causes of depression in the elderly during the holiday season. We are, as a community, very excited to be participating in the 45 Days of Holiday Cheer. We will be focusing on having a holiday theme each day and encouraging our residents to participate daily. While participating in the 45 days of the Holiday Cheer we are trying to incorporate as many traditions as possible for our residents to participate in. We also have brought on a new service in the last two months called Psych360, which offers 24/7 support to all our residents.
The holiday season means different things to each of us. The holidays are about family, friends, food, and tradition. For many, the smells, taste, and decorations bring memories flooding back. We at Carriage Court Senior Living hope some of these ideas will be helpful as the holidays approach.
Carriage Court Senior Living in Hilliard, OH offers independent senior apartments, assisted living, and memory care with a variety of services and a range of floor plan options. Amenities include restaurant dining, 24-hour bistro, concierge service, housekeeping, events and entertainment, personal care, transportation services, and more. Centrally located near Dublin Methodist Hospital with convenient access to major shopping centers, including Heritage Golf Club, The Market at Hilliard, Ten Pin Bowling, Crooked Can Brewery & Center Street Market , and the Hilliard Family Aquatic Center.
